1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of wireless and wired lighting control systems. Generally, the system provides a solution for wirelessly controlling indoor and/or outdoor lighting luminaires or fixtures. The system includes wireless devices that receive signals from various sensors and other control devices and respond by taking appropriate action to control, for example, the light output of light fixtures. These wireless devices communicate with each other via a radio module (RM) embedded in each device. A controlling user interface (UI) can be deployed to monitor and control the system's wireless devices via web-based communication provided by a web server module that can communicate wirelessly with the system's wireless devices. The UI can include web pages that reside on a web server accessible by a standard web browser. Such a web browser can run on one or more computers connected to the web server. Connection to the web server can be wireless or wired through, for example: (1) a local area network, or (2) the internet by, for example, local or remote access to the internet, or (3) both.
2. Discussion of the Background of the Invention
The use of wireless control is one of the most exciting frontiers in lighting control, offering significant potential benefits over traditional wired solutions for both existing buildings and new construction. In a typical wired lighting controls system, control signals are sent (either one-way or both ways) using low-voltage communications wires. In a wireless system, devices communicate through the air utilizing radio frequency (RF) waves without the need for communications wiring. Wireless solutions substantially reduce the installed cost of lighting controls by negating the need for expensive dedicated control communications wiring.
Over the past decade, major advancements have been made that have significantly enhanced the capability and reliability of RF communications of all kinds. These advancements have made it feasible for control manufacturers to economically deploy RF wireless control strategies to overcome barriers related to hardwired control systems.
Use of RF wireless controls for both residential and commercial applications continues to grow. It is generally accepted that with the new technologies now available, RF wireless controls will become more widely adopted in commercial applications.
As the cost of energy continues to escalate, the value of highly tuned and capable lighting solutions, which capitalize on both energy efficient lighting fixtures and aggressive energy saving control strategies, will continue to grow. The use of RF wireless control strategies will enable deployment of control strategies not possible or economically prohibitive using traditional wired control techniques.
There are various conventional systems and methods for monitoring and controlling remote wireless communication devices including sensors or actuators employed in the lighting industry. Such conventional wireless communication devices are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,870,080, 7,167,777, 7,346,433, and 7,812,543, and U.S. Published Patent Applications Pub. Nos. 2008/0097782, 2010/0007289, 2010/0280677, and 2010/0301781.
There are numerous examples of conventional systems where laptop computers, servers or workstations connected to the Internet or an intranet (such as a wide area network, a local area network or a series of linked, local networks) control remote wireless devices by means of local gateways that broadcast commands to remote wireless devices. Such conventional systems and methods are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,028,522, 6,218,953, 6,430,268, 6,437,692, 6,891,838, 6,914,893, 7,053,767, 7,103,511, 7,468,661, 7,650,425, 7,697,492, 7,978,059, and U.S. Published Patent Applications Pub. Nos. 2005/0201397, 2009/0243840, 2010/0194582, and 2010/0312881.
Typically, wireless communications in these conventional systems are achieved by local gateways designed to “broadcast” commands to wireless devices, and by wireless devices that “broadcast” responses or other information. When “broadcast,” the information is transmitted or re-transmitted indiscriminately to all wireless devices within the range of the broadcast. Thus, such wireless communications employ conventional protocols and message formats where all wireless transmissions (such as commands or responses) include fields identifying a wireless device that the message is addressed “To,” the wireless device the message is addressed “From,” and the content of the message.
That is, without the “From” information, data contained in a broadcast response cannot be matched to the wireless device actually providing the data. Accordingly, in conventional systems, responses broadcast from a wireless device (by either direct transmission to a local gateway, or re-transmission by other wireless devices in the network) must include the wireless device's “From” information.
Drawbacks of such conventional communication protocols and message formats include: (1) a longer message structure, which may result in greater likelihood of transmission errors in a wireless communication; (2) a more complicated communication protocol, which may require mapping of communication paths between local gateways and wireless devices to ensure efficient delivery of commands and responses; (3) need for additional processing capability in wireless devices to ensure proper transmission and re-transmission of responses, which may increase the cost of deploying and maintaining the system; and (4) limited capability to associate sensors with actuators, which inhibits flexibility to deploy and commission wireless devices, sensors or actuators to monitor and control lighting in selectively defined locations within a three-dimensional space or volume.